CSE says Lankan equities attracting interest of wider international audience

Wednesday, 30 May 2018 01:54 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) said yesterday that investment flows from the Scandinavian region to the Sri Lankan stock market had made a noteworthy improvement in recent years with a 39% per annum (CAGR) since 2013.

It said the Rs. 2.4 billion in foreign purchases recorded from Sweden so far in 2018 marked a new high for investment flows into the stock market from the country, where the inflows recorded within the first five months of the year have bettered the previous high of Rs. 1.6 billion recorded in 2014.

Scandinavian countries have collectively invested Rs. 8.2 billion in local equities in 2018 YTD, 23% of the total foreign purchases during the period.

Foreign purchases originating from Norway also most recently recorded an all-time high, with Rs. 7.6 billion worth of purchases, establishing a new record in 2017, during a year which established new all-time yearly foreign purchase records for 11 countries.

Commenting on emerging investment flows from non-traditional markets, the CSE Head of Market Development, Niroshan Wijesundere, said: “The stock market has seen encouraging foreign investor interest since 2017, particularly from traditional markets. The emergence of non-traditional segments, such as the Scandinavian region in particular, offers further encouragement and highlights the value proposition the market offers at present and its ability to attract the interest of investors from around the world.”

“The sustainable way forward for the Sri Lankan stock market is to consolidate foreign investment strongholds while also actively pursuing new countries that are indicating positive investment trends in Sri Lanka, and this is set to be a main focus in our international investment promotion strategy going forward,” Wijesundere added.